Discover the five stages of cyber security maturity

Cyber security

A journey from denial to opportunity

Five stages you have to navigate to protect your organisation from attack

Published in the wake of high-profile global incidents such as the recent WannaCry and Petya ransomware attacks, our new BT report, “The cyber security journey – from denial to opportunity”, looks at each of the stages businesses go through to gain true leadership in the management of their security risks.

The chances of a business or an individual becoming the victim of a cyber attack have never been greater. But although awareness of cyber threats has never been higher, many businesses continue to fall into dangerous traps as they deal with the complexity of securing a digital enterprise.

The report defines five maturity stages in the security journey of any business: Denial; Worry; False Confidence; Hard Lessons; and True Leadership. Each stage presents a different set of challenges.

For those businesses at the “Denial” stage of the journey, the paper urges them to start with ‘good housekeeping’ by investing in firewalls, antivirus software, patching, strong password security and back-ups. It’s vital not to run before you can walk – getting the essentials right is paramount.

True leaders, on the other-hand, think about cyber security differently – not as a risk which is discussed by the board twice a year, but as an opportunity that is closely integrated in the day to day running of the business.

Now’s the time to assess where you are on that path, perhaps avoid some of the pitfalls and understand the real risks of the digital world. Completing this journey will be the key to understanding digital risk and unlocking the opportunities of cyber security.

Download the report by completing the form on this page, to discover how to prepare your organisation for the future of cyber crime.